RACHAEL GOODALL GOT HELEN HOLM'S THIRD HOLE IN ONE AT ROYAL TROON 17th ON SUNDAY

                 RACHAEL GOODALL ... hole in one at 17th on Royal Troon

                         Sunday's action image by Cal Carson Golf Agency

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
There were not one, not two but THREE holes in one during the weekend's 40th staging of the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championship at Troon Portland and Royal Troon.
Golf writers are often the last to hear - or be informed - about events on a golf course and so it was on Sunday's last round at Royal Troon.
We did know that Irish youngster Chloe Ryan (Castletroy) had holed her tee shot at the famous Postage Stamp short eighth (118yd) in the morning.
We also knew that Rachael Taylor, the Germany-based Scot, had aced the 15th (166yd) at Troon Portland on Friday.
What we didn't know was that in the exciting closing stages of the tournament, Rachael Goodall (Heswall), joint first-round leader with Leona Maguire, had holed her tee shot at the 17th (166yd) on Royal Troon.
Chloe Ryan, who finished joint 12th on 225 (76-73-76)  had to leave quickly to catch the ferry back to Ireland, which explains why she does not appear in the photograph of prizewinners.
Thanks to that late hole in one, Rachael Goodall finished joint fifth on 220 with scores of 68-74-78.
Her third-round scoreboard really was a ridiculous-to-sublime transformation between the first and second halves. The player from Heswall on the Wirrall had a quadruple bogey 9 at the fourth hole after getting to nine-under-par with a birdie at the seconde. But she bogeyed the third, then cascaded four shots to par at the fourth and, suddenly, she's "only" four under par for the tournament.
But, after turning in five-over 42, things got a whole lot better for Goodall. She birdied the long 11th and, after dropping a shot with a 6 at the 15th, along came that ace at the 17th in 36 home for a 78.